Tales of the Urban Explorer: St Luke's Crypt

It was one of those days, where you were searching out the dregs. Exploring in relatively nearby Manchester has gotten that way.

Everything has been done, or is sealed after one day, or has been demolished preferably after being visited by us sometime in the past.

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@anidiotexplores proposed 'St Luke's Crypt' after a tip-off that the gates had been breached. Current intelligence is priceless, and hosting a website named 'Urbex Current Intelligence – Get in and beat the Goon Rush' has crossed my mind more than once.

Would someone pay a subscription for such a ridiculous concept? Like anything I think of, it’s probably been tried before.

St Luke's Church was an Anglican parish church in the Cheetham district of Manchester, England. The structure is now mostly derelict and is currently owned by the Heritage Trust for the North West.

The building was completed in 1839, commencing in 1836. Although now mostly derelict, the tower and west end of the aisles and vestry survive and are classified as a Grade II listed building.
Source

'St Luke's Crypt' was no public venue; we figured that one quickly given the amount of dense greenery present and the pile of colourful mangy bags dumped by the fly-tippers.

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We scouted the edges noting a breach quickly in the pallaside spiky fencing, though that was not the end of it. Natural foliage within was thick and unpleasant to traipse though, and being on the inside of the fencing trying to get deeper was gaining us unwanted attention from the local walkers.

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…’if it’s not too thick you can slowly make ground through this stuff, and if you’re lucky a mixture of nettles won’t be part of the problem’…

The upper part of 'St Luke's Crypt' is a ruin, and as we would shortly find out, quite inaccessible. The crypt or mausoleum was our target, the area that generally houses the walking dead such as zombies, ghouls, animated skeletons, mummies and revenants.

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Could this be the entrance to our doom, to join the ranks of the living dead?

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It was looking promising, and the tip-off was good. The gates had been ripped off their hinges and an encompassing blackness lay beyond, inviting and enticing.

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‘Beyond’ was underwhelming, the mini-stalactites being the feature. They don’t ‘grow’ overnight and were numerous.

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The ceiling, and something growing out of it in a downward fashion. It looked like tar or some other sticky substance as a base. I figure this to be standard crypt décor.

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While the crypt was sizable and extremely dark, it was also stark, bare and lacked the expected ubiquitous coffins.

This meant no scraping, scratching noises of the undead emerging from dusty sarcophagi intent on us joining them in their conquest to rid mankind.

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One large stone remained in the furthest corner, Richard Ormerod hailing from 1847. It wasn’t even a coffin, how disappointing.

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What happened to the rest of the dead bodies we were expecting to find?

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If they were through there, then I was not going to climb headfirst through the gap to check. Poking my head through, I half expected the Grim Reaper to try and scythe off my head, but inside was silence and more emptiness.

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If we heard the sudden rattling of the Iron Gate being chained up while inside, there was at least one escape route, though it could be a struggle fitting through this similarly sized hole.

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The ‘escape route’ from the outside; manageable, but I would prefer to abstain.

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The green essence on the wall, magical as it seems was simply a trick of the light. It’s not a secret jade mine, ripe for digging out.

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We departed the crypt, intent on looking further around the ground for more action. That door would soon be chained up and sealed again, that is certain.

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After circling 'St Luke's Crypt', we figured every entrance was sealed, and properly with bricks and mortar.

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Getting through the door, or should I say ‘over’ the door requires some serious climbing skills. The other side looked full of those weedy trees and more bushes of nettles and bramble bushes.

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Yet another escape route from the crypt. Had the zombies already left this way, and started their campaign to turn Manchester into an undead city?

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...'the realistic growling sound effects and the zombie on a skateboard get me every time'...

We vacated 'St Luke's Crypt', in search of more thrilling sights.

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56 comments
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Classical old church slowly going back to original, no resurrection for this one. Another explore that sure looks ghostly....

@tipu curate

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no resurrection for this one.

For sure, the unlucky owners can't do anything due to the Grade Listed protection sticker slapped on it. Inside was peaceful if anything and deadly quiet.

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Bright side of life, no walking dead, currently a landmark..., when spire crumbles tune will change.

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Love those outside pics at the start, It looks as grand as fuck! Such a shame the upper part was inaccessible.

Shame about the lack of undead ghouls!

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Such a shame the upper part was inaccessible.

It looked a shell inside from what I could see. No sign of zombies besides the one in the short video clip. They knew how to make trailers in 1974 😀, grabbed me right in!

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I love a good trailer from then. Nowadays they expose the whole plot!

Old churches rawk. More of them, we demand it!!

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Even though it's still day, the looks of the place still creepy. 😨

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Even before you mentioned ghost and walking dead, the look was scary already.
Everything horror! Maybe it's because I'm soaked in movies like that. Lol.

Nice exploration 👍

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Excellent stuff, I've always wanted to get in an old derelict church.

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There's not that many, I have only around 15 out of almost 300 explores. I'm not sure whether the crypt counts as 'in' 😀

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This place is really big. The place looks scary though
I’m never going to enter such place😅😅😅
A huge scary building😅😅

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It looks big from the outside, but is more tall than anything.

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This place is so dark and looks like land of the ghost😅😅
Nice adventure!

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It looks as creepy as I'm sure was intended but how gorgeous is that! Nature taking over really helps. These abandoned places really show a different side of life. They don't make architecture like this these days. Thanks for sharing.

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There's less of it everyday here. They are demolishing a lot of old buildings, even ones at 400+ years old.

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Manchester is my home town, though it's been a while.

Nice work, thanks.

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Wow, that is pretty impressive. It's sad that such a place has just been left to kind of rot like that. Seeing all the overgrowth and how it has just been left to decay is horrible.

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Here churches with this look are commonplace, I know they don't look this way in the US. I suppose we take them for granted, religion is dying away here.

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That's too bad. They really are beautiful. We have some places that try to mimic the style, but the OG's are nice!

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Wow... Wow..... I thought it was a surreal place!... How is it possible that a chapel with such a fantastic design is abandoned?... A very interesting post as always!... Loved the photos, and this time looking at the place exterior shots captivated me more....

"Current intelligence is priceless, and hosting a website named 'Urbex Current Intelligence – Get in and beat the Goon Rush' has crossed my mind more than once."

Haaaaahaaaaahaaaa :)) You always being ‘you’ .... Greetings and thanks for sharing!

!discovery 40
!VSC
!PIZZA

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It would have been locked up again in a week, seriously we need that 'Goon Rush' website. Current intel is valuable here!

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Honestly, this place looks pretty calming inside. Nettle, I've had interaction with stinging nettle, which I think is one varieties of nettle and had a massive allergic reactions to it.

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That's the only type I know, the stinging variety. I constantly have to evade them while trying to get to building overgrown with every weed known to mankind.

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Doesn't sound fun! Has there been any place that you've explored that really stuck with you?

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They have got me more than once. I have done approaching 500 explores, and none of them spring to mind as standout. Lots have given me the WOW factor though.

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What a pity that a structure so full of history is abandoned in such a way that it deteriorates, it could well be a museum.
Now that I live in Spain I realize that there are many old abandoned buildings and I guess from your post, that it is like that all over Europe.
I love your images and I think you are brave, I don't have the courage to go into those abandoned buildings. And it's not for fear of the dead but rather for some living thing I find in those places. 😁
Have a nice day! ✨

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I don't have the courage to go into those abandoned buildings.

There is no fear, not any more.. you grow immune to it. The only problem is who's inside.., which is generally nobody. I occasionally meet other explorers, but it's rare.

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Your exploration of St Luke's Crypt is both thrilling and evocative! The detailed narrative really captures the eerie atmosphere and the anticipation of uncovering hidden secrets. It's fascinating to read about the challenges you faced, from navigating dense foliage to encountering the stark, empty crypt. Your humor about expecting the undead adds a playful touch to the otherwise spooky adventure. This write-up would definitely intrigue anyone interested in urban exploration. Who knows, maybe your idea for an 'Urbex Current Intelligence' website could become a hit among fellow explorers! Thank you for sharing this captivating experience. 👻

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I see you are new so take this free advice.

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Don't use AI on HIVE, it will leads to downvotes and tears.

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The bodies have been reanimated and are currently running the council

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Reading through the lines, I was thrilled by those small opening on the wall. I’m not brave like you but I would still be curious to check it out by taking a video or photo first before I poke my head in those 😂

You had quite an adventure. This could be a scene in an Indiana Jones movie searching for a dead man’s treasure map. Or like what you said, a zombie nest 😰

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They are all adventures, it keeps me fit.. or that's the idea 😀

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That’s one way to get yourself motivated into staying fit and achieve a good over all health condition. Actually, that is one exciting way of doing it!

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Definitely a place for zombies! It amazes me how these places become so decrepit. I wouldn't like to be stuck in there, with the scrape of trowel of mortar against bricks ...

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Before the gate was opened, I doubt anyone had been there in years. The brush was not trampled, a sure sign of trespassers (like me).

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Seeing the first few images I was excited to see what is inside that huge place. I was even thinking that why would that beautiful building be abandoned. So it was very sad to see that you can only access the crypt. The eeriness was interesting, but there wasn't much to see. I guess a lot of people couldn't take the atmosphere as well.

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Why is @spaminator on your case?

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Thank you for pointing that out. I actually don't know. My guess is because I join giveaway posts? I'll try to find out though.

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Yes, it will be those, they don't like 'em.

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I see. I'm really thankful that you pointed it out. It seems it has been happening for a while now and I never noticed. There was no message, and since the downvote was less than 0.02 I never got a notification. I have messaged the Hivewatchers discord, and waiting for their reply.

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That looks scary, not going to lie! I've been into quite a few crypts before and even if they were strange, they, at least, seemed safe to be around. St Luke's Crypt seems like being part of a horror movie to me hahaha. Joking obviously!

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I only wish there was a little more inside, it was quite bare.

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I feel you on that. It would definitely be a lot more interesting :)

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Love your style. These old structures are fascinating. Hard to believe they fall to ruin like this.

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Thanks!, I hope I am not getting too cliched in my style.

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Given the coloration on the bricks of that last "escape route," I'd wager that the crypt was home to far more bats than undead humans. Interesting that you didn't seem to encounter any while down there.

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From the outside, it looks remarkable. That's not possible here. Churches are either destroyed to the foundations or renovated.

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